Before politics. Before websites and speeches and board meetings. I was a farmer.
It was farming that brought me to Chilliwack. The promise of land that could grow not just food, but possibility. I lived in a trailer on a farm by choice, because I believed in something bigger than convenience or comfort. I believed in what the land could teach us, if we listened.
And it taught me plenty.
Farming showed me that food isn’t just about nutrition.. it’s about connection. It’s about who gets to eat, where that food comes from, and whether we’re building a system that leaves anyone behind. It taught me that food security isn’t a luxury; it’s a right. And food sovereignty? That’s what happens when people, not corporations, decide what goes on their tables.
I saw firsthand how long supply chains fail us. How food grown in our own soil is shipped thousands of kilometers away while our neighbours go hungry. It’s backwards, and it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t need to be importing what we can grow right here.. on land we already care for, in a community that already knows how to work together.
The Fraser Valley has everything we need to thrive: fertile soil, generational knowledge, and people who know the value of a hard day’s work. What we need is the political will to protect that. To keep local food in local mouths. To shorten the distance between the farmer and the fork . For the sake of our economy, yes, but also our resiliency. Our sustainability. Our survival.
I’ve worked the land. I’ve watched the bees. I’ve harvested in the rain. And through all of it, I’ve come to see farming not just as a job, but as a form of care. For the land, for each other, and for future generations.
And that’s why I fight. For policies that protect farmland from corporate development. For investments in local agriculture. For a food system that feeds us.. not just shareholders.
We already have what we need here in Chilliwack-Hope. We have strong hands, deep roots, and a community that shows up for each other. All we need now is leadership that protects that. And I’m ready to stand up and do exactly that.
Because food should be grown here, eaten here, and benefit the people who live here.
We deserve nothing less.
We already have what we need: strong farms, strong people, and a community worth protecting. Vote Teri Westerby on April 28th and let’s keep it that way, together.
